The InLaws
by TrinityIsis
Summary: Cheris has always been a loner, that is until she meets her cousins new in-laws.
1. The Phone Call

The In-Laws

Chapter 1: The phone call.

Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Twilight universe. This is a story for my cousin Cheris. I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Cheris stop reading fan fiction. Our new interior designer is here." My cousin Tessa said from our new office doors.<p>

Tessa and I have always been close. She was more like an older sister than a cousin. We spent most of our childhood together. When I needed a partner to help me open a bar she was the first person that came to mind. We agreed she would handle the business end and I would be in charge of the actual bar. We had just signed papers on our building a few months ago and our interior designer had just arrived for a walk through.

"Sweet, Let me mark my place and I'll meet you out there." I said marking my spot on the screen.

I walked out of the office door and into the main bar area. I saw Tessa standing with a woman slightly over five feet tall. She had short black hair styled like a pixie. I walked over and introduced myself.

"Hi, I'm Cheris, welcome to Castle." I said

"Hi, I'm Alice. Tessa has told me so much about you." She said shaking my hand.

"Oh. I didn't know you two had met." I said slightly confused.

"Sorry Cheris. Alice is Edwards's sister." Tessa explained.

Tessa had met her boyfriend Edward about a year ago at Seattle General Hospital's E.R. We were cleaning up our apartment when she slipped on the wet kitchen floor and broke her arm. They had been inseparable ever since. He seemed like a nice guy always well-mannered and worshipped the ground Tess walked on. I had met him a few times he had actually helped us with our drug screenings for the new employees.

"But don't worry; I am super good at my job. My taste is nothing like Eddie's." Alice laughed.

"I happen to think that Edward has very good taste." Tessa said

"Taste in women yes. Taste in designing… Come on Tessa you have seen his room." Alice smiled.

"I see your point." Tessa laughed

"So Cheris what do you have planned for this lovely establishment" Alice asked pulling out a notebook.

"I want this place to look like a modern day Dracula's castle. Use black as a base color lots of deep reds and purples." I started.

"That sounds nice. How about some mirrors and silver metals with a little wrought iron?" Alice suggested.

"I love it. I want the bar to be extremely high tech. I have worked in so many bars that have lacked in technology and all it does is frustrate you. "I said.

"Do we have a budget set Tess?" Alice asked

"Well with Cheris and I saving up and the money that our opening night sale generated our budget is right at a hundred thousand." Tessa said looking at our budget folder.

"Holy fuck Tess. I didn't know we had that much." I said

"Well we have been talking about this since we were kids. Plus Tia and Britni have been spreading the word about our under 21 policy. Plus there really aren't any clubs around here so promotion was easy. "She said.

I was very glad I had picked her as a business partner. We spent the next four hours looking at samples of paint, fabric and flooring Alice had brought with her. We had become fast friends in that time. Alice was very energetic with a no nonsense attitude like me. We had picked out a lot of things and we made a follow up appointment for a week from now.

"Well ladies my husband will be here any minute so I am going to head out. Cheris her is my number give me a call and we can hang out one day." Alice said handing me her business card.

"That sounds like fun. Have a good night Alice." I said watching her walk out the door.

"Hey Tess, feel like a drink?" I asked grabbing two glasses from underneath the bar.

"Just a Pepsi for me." she said.

"Not even a celebratory shot?" I asked as I poured myself a shot of Jack Daniels.

"I would love to but I'm meeting Edward at his house for dinner tonight." She said smiling and gathering her things.

"When you say dinner do you mean bumping uglies?" I asked downing my shot quickly.

"No! He said he wanted to cook me dinner. Besides he is a gentleman" she said blushing.

"I got news for you Tess, even gentlemen like vagina." I said making her choke on her Pepsi.

"Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you Sissy Bear." she said as she walked up the stairs of the club.

I went back to the office and sat down. I was happy for Tessa. She had been through some horrible breakups in the past few years. When she found Edward I was excited for her. But at times I wondered when I would find my own Edward. I grew up pretty shy around guys. Most of them looked at me like one of the guys or a little sister instead of a love interest. Puberty had been good to me. I had a clear complexion and had grown a healthy sized chest overnight. Boys started to take notice of me but I was just too shy. I became a bartender as a way to make money in college. I even had a special permit to bartend at the age of 18. I got my first of several tattoos shortly after that and the piercings followed. I loved the fast pace and environment of a good bar. But being in that kind of atmosphere had given me a taste for bad boys. The guys I went for had to be the guys your mom warned you about. Piercing and tattoos on a man, the more the merrier in my opinion. The guys moshing in the pit of a hard rock concert were my speed. But it always ended the same. I had dated a few times over the past couple years. We would date for a few months things would start to get serious and they would run for the hills. Instead of dealing with it I would just push it off and move on. But seeing Tessa and Edward so happy together made me want a relationship like theirs. I wanted someone to look at me the way he looked at her. It seemed like they were half of a whole. I pushed the thought out of my head. Dwelling on my failed relationships only ended one of two ways: me becoming depressed and bitchy to everyone or me getting shitfaced drunk. I couldn't afford either right now. I started to look through the notes Tessa had left me about our food providers and the candidates for a cook as a distraction. As much as I loved my cousin her handwriting drove me insane. It was so hard to read and her numbers confused the hell out of me. I struggled through it for a few more minutes before I decided to just call her. I dialed her cell phone number and got her voice mail. I decided to give it another go. The phone rang a couple times before someone answered.

"House of porn." The voice on the other end said.

"Who the fuck are you and why are you answering this phone." I screamed into the receiver.

"Easy there hot lips. I just found the phone on the floor; I thought it was my brothers." He explained.

"Well it's not. It belongs to someone named Tessa. Is she around?" I asked a little pissed off.

"Oh this is Tess' phone. She must have dropped it as her and Edward ran to the bedroom." He laughed

"I knew she was giving it up to him. Wait Edward has a brother?" I asked confused.

"Yes he does. A funny, handsome, strong, sex god of a brother. So are you single?" he asked boldly.

"Who are you?" I laughed

"Oh my name is Emmett. Who are you?" he asked seductively

"Just tell Tess to call Castle when she is done getting laid." I said hanging up the phone.

So Edward had a brother. Who would have thought Mr. Manners had a perverted outgoing relative. Well looks like I was gonna have to do more recon on this Emmett Cullen.

* * *

><p>Thank you all so much for reading this. Please leave me a review on what you think. Much love and appreciation! - Tessa<p> 


	2. Forgotten Keys

Thank you for the reviews and all the adds to favorites and alerts. A big thank you to Cheris for betaing my story. Now on with the show. oh yeah PS I dont own twilight

* * *

><p>Chapter 2 Forgotten Keys<p>

* * *

><p>I woke up to my phone ringing around 8 am.<p>

"Hello?" I answered half asleep. All the years working the night shift didn't help my sleep schedule.

"Oh hey Cheris, it's Alice. I have some stuff for you to look at for Castle. "Alice said

"Oh ok. Umm I can meet you at Castle in about an hour." I said

"Okay I'll see you there." She said hanging up.

I quickly got up and took a quick shower. I grabbed a pair of jeans and an old sweatshirt and headed to my 2009 neon green Chevy Camaro. It was my pride and joy. It was the first thing I had bought after I graduated college. I climbed into it and headed toward Castle. I pulled in and saw Alice standing by her car. I parked my baby in the private garage under the bar.

"Good Morning Cheris!" Alice said smiling.

"Morning Alice. I wasn't expecting to hear from you for at least a week." I said unlocking the door and helping her carry her stuff inside.

"I know but last night I got so excited that I couldn't sleep and did some designing on my computer." She said setting up her laptop and showing me some layouts.

"So I see. Oh hey that reminds me do you and Edward have a brother?" I asked.

"Yeah his name is Emmett. Why is he causing trouble?" she asked pulling up a few drawings.

"No not really. I called Tessa's phone and he answered it. I was just making sure it wasn't some joke." I said smiling.

"Emmett isn't good about personal space or topics. He used to answer his and Eddies house phone saying Cullen Morgue you kill em we chill em. "Alice smiled.

"I bet Edward loved that." I laughed.

"It ended with a wrestling match during Sunday dinner." Alice smiled.

"Hello is anyone in here?" Tessa said as she walked into the bar.

"Well someone is up earlier than normal." Alice said hugging her.

"That is because she got laid last night." I said smiling.

"Can't Emmett ever keep his damn trap shut?" Tessa said making me laugh.

"Yeah right. Emmett couldn't keep his mouth shut if you stapled it shut with industrial staples." Alice laughed

"Well I know he didn't say anything about this!" Tessa said showing off her left ring finger.

"YOU GOT ENGAGED!" I screamed excitedly.

"Edward asked me last night. It was amazing." She said with a look in her eye.

"I knew he was up to something. He never has people over to meet the family." Alice said admiring the ring.

"See what happens when you give up the goodies." I said hugging her.

"It wasn't like that. He took me up on the cliffs and we had a picnic. As we walked back to his car he acted like he tripped and when I went to make sure he was ok he pulled out the ring and got up on one knee and asked me to marry him." Tessa said smiling like a little kid who just found a cookie before dinner.

"Pretty sneaky Eddie." Alice laughed

"I am so happy for you Tess. " I said hugging her once again.

"Good because you are going to be my maid of honor." Tess said

"Do I get to pick out my dress?" I asked

"No." Tessa said quickly

"Damn!" I laughed

"Well can I at least throw you an engagement party?" I asked smiling

"Sounds like a plan." She said grabbing a soda from behind the bar.

"Did someone say party?" I heard a very eager male voice yell from the door.

"Who the hell are you?" I said jumping out of my chair.

"Cheris this is Emmett, you know Edwards brother." Tessa explained

"That still doesn't explain how he got on here." I said glaring at him

"That is my fault Cheris. Tessa left her keys at my house last night and I remembered she was gonna come see you so I let myself and Emmett here in. I didn't mean to scare you." Edward said walking down the stairs.

"It's ok Edward." Tessa said as she walked to him.

"Your fine Edward but that mountain of muscle is in trouble. No one is allowed into castle without mine or Tessa's consent." I said

Emmett looked over at me with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"My bad ma." He said smiling

"I'm not your mother so don't call me ma. If I was your mother I would whip your ass for speaking to a lady like that." I said through gritted teeth as I pulled Tessa's keys out of his hand.

"Careful I like feisty women. Edward I'll see you by the car." He said making his way to the door after kissing Alice and Tess on the cheek.

I heard the door slam and then looked at everyone else.

"Is he always that cocky?" I asked

"Always. Makes him good at his job." Edward explained

"What does he do strip?" I laughed

"No he is a security guard at the hospital." Alice told me.

"Speaking of security guards, Edward you might need one after Tess tells our family she is engaged. Congratulations." I said hugging him.

"Speaking of telling family, Mom invited you over for dinner tonight. I thought we could tell them together." Edward smirked as he kissed Tessa's cheek.

"Cheris you should come too." Alice chimed in.

"We will be there sweetness. What time?" Tessa spoke before I got a chance.

"Around 8. I'm gonna get Emmett out of here before he taints your new last name." he said smiling and saying goodbye.

I watched Edward walked out as I retook my seat across from Alice. Her Tessa and I began to talk more and more about the setup of the club. Everything fell into place rather easy and we ended the afternoon planning Edward and Tessa's engagement party. Alice said she would take care of all the decorations if we did the invites. It was close to five when the three of us walked out of Castle.

I saw Tess drive off in her dodge charger as I climbed into my car. As I started up the engine a piece of paper caught my eye. I opened the door and grabbed the paper from under my wiper blade.

_Cheris_

_Here is my number in case you find yourself eager to spank me._

_Emmett_

I shoved the paper in my pocket and got in my car. That cocky bastard. There was no denying that he was so sexy it hurt, but he knew it. That is what makes it so bad. I speed off thinking about how to get back at him tonight at dinner.


	3. Family Dinner

Family Dinner

Sorry for the long delay. I dont own Twilight.

* * *

><p>"Cheris come on, we are gonna be late." Tessa yelled from the front room.<p>

"You're the one who agreed to me coming so you can wait while I get ready." I yelled back.

"Don't act like you are mad. I know you wanna see Emmett again. You can fool a lot of people Sissy but you can't fool me." She said walking into my bedroom.

"I don't want to see that arrogant ass." I lied.

"Sure you don't. That's why you're wearing the little black dress you bought for your 21st birthday. " She laughed.

The dress wasn't too skimpy but it was reveling. It was a tight mid-thigh black dress the sleeves and shoulders were black lace. I wore my black stiletto heels with it. Tessa was right I wanted to see Emmett. I wanted to see his jaw hit the floor as I walked past him. If it wasn't for his cockiness I would give him a go or two. I looked in the mirror one last time and noticed Tessa impatiently smoothing out her dress. I grabbed my skull and cross bones hair pin and put it in.

"Now I'm ready to go." I said smiling at her.

"Well come on Edward said our ride would be here around 7." Tess said practically dragging me to the front door.

"He spoils you rotten. Sending a car to pick you up." I laughed as the doorbell rang.

Tessa opened the door and there stood Emmett in a nice suit and tie. He looked delicious.

"What are you doing Emmett? " Tessa said smiling.

"I'm giving you a ride to Moms." He said looking at me like I was a side of beef.

"Oh I thought Edward was sending a car." Tessa said.

"He was going to but I couldn't resist the urge to have two lovely ladies in my car. Make every man there jealous." He said kissing Tessa's cheek.

"You're such a horrible flirt." She laughed and walked out the door leaving me and him alone.

"You clean up nice" he said to me.

"Not bad yourself. Your girlfriend has nice taste in suits." I said fishing for answers.

"No girlfriend, Alice insists on picking out all our boys' clothes for nice meals. Who picked out your sinful dress?" He said walking towards me.

"My younger sister Britni did. " I said spinning around.

"Remind me to thank her." He said ushering me out the door.

I walked towards the elevator where Tessa was waiting for us. We slipped in and headed down. The ride was mostly quiet except for a few pleasantries exchanged between Emmett and Tess. When we pulled up to the Cullen home I gasped. It was beautiful. It was easily three stories and had huge windows everywhere. I saw Edward waiting on the steps for us. Emmett stopped the car and came over to open Tessa's door. He took her hand and helped her out as Emmett came around to my side of the car.

"Well look who discovered his manners." I said playfully.

"I have to have manners here. My mother is a tough woman and doesn't stand for rudeness especially towards beautiful ladies." He smiled.

"Flattery will get you everywhere Mr. Cullen." I laugh at Emmett

I walk in and my jaw hit the ground. The house was gorgeous. There were windows everywhere and beautiful modern color schemes. Emmett escorted me to the dining room where I saw a table set for what looked to be a royal feast. I turned to talk to Emmett when Alice came running at me.

"I'm so glad you made it Cheris. You look amazing. "she said hugging me.

"Thanks Alice. You look nice yourself. This house is beautiful." I said trying to remember all the polite conversation topics my family had tried to teach me as a teenager.

"I wish I could take credit for it but it was all my mother. Has Emmett introduced you to her?" she asked looking at Emmett.

"We just got her Alice. Besides I haven't even seen Mom yet." Emmett answered for me.

"Oh well her and Dad are over by the stairs. Better go introduce her before Edward's surprise for Tessa gets here." Alice said.

"Tessa hates surprises Alice." I informed her.

"She will like this one." Alice said confidently.

"Well Alice I'm gonna take your advice and take Cheris to meet Esme." Emmett said ushering me towards his mother.

"Have fun you two." Alice said with a wink.

As we walked through the room I felt Emmett put his hand on my ass. Before I could smack him away or reprimand him we were in front of a drop dead beautiful brunette. He quickly removed his hand and hugged the woman. When he broke away from the hug he introduced us.

"Mom this is Cheris. Cheris this is my momma Esme." He laughed.

"It's wonderful to meet you Cheris. What a unique name." Esme said reaching to shake my hand.

"Thank you. I love your house." I said smiling

"Thank you. It's very rare that Emmett brings a date to a family function." She said eyeing her son.

"Oh I'm not his date. I'm Tessa's cousin." I corrected.

"Oh well he made it seem like you two were an item." She said laughing.

"Well thank you for making this awkward Mom." Emmett said rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry dear. Well Cheris it was lovely to meet you, if you would excuse me I need to check on the food." She said walking away quickly.

"So you never bring girls home?" I asked Emmett with a small grin.

"I bring PLENTY of girls home, just none to my mother's home." He said with a wink.

"You don't want Mommy to know you're a man whore?" I laughed

Emmett opened his mouth to say something when we heard someone ask for everyone's attention. We all turned to look at who I assumed was Emmett Alice and Edwards's father.

"Sorry to interrupt. It looks like the Cullen clan will be growing by one. Edward has asked his girlfriend of a year Tessa to marry him and she has said yes." Carlisle said smiling as everyone applauded.

"Before there are any congratulations, Tessa, Edward has arranged a surprise for you." Carlisle finished gesturing to the door.

I spun around to see our family walk in. It seems the surprise was for the two families to finally meet. I looked at Tess as everyone filtered in, she was almost in tears she was so happy. My mom and sister walked over to me and I tried to put some distance between me and Emmett.

"I see your finally wearing that dress I picked out." My little sister Britni said hugging me.

"Finally had somewhere to wear it." I said returning the hug.

"Somewhere or someone?" My mom asked eyeing Emmett. My mother always was as sharp as a tack.

"This is Emmett, Emmett this is my mother Michelle and my sister Britni." I said introducing them.

"It is very nice to meet both of you. You have a lovely daughter Michelle." He said shaking their hands.

"She does clean up nice. So Emmett how long have you two been dating?" my mom asked

"We aren't together. He is Edwards's brother. So we are a just friend that's all friends yep just friends." I said not sure if I was trying to convince them or me.

"I'll leave you three to catch up, if you'll excuse me." Emmett said smiling and walking away.

The rest of the party went along smoothly. Emmett kept his distance after meeting my family and I was thankful for it. As much as I loved them I knew it would be a full on interrogation if he kept coming around. As the party wound down people started to leave and everyone seemed to relax.

"Cheris, have you seen Tessa?" our grandmother asked.

"Her and Edward headed out back." I said

"Would you please go get her for me so I can tell her bye." She asked.

"Sure thing Mamaw." I said walking towards the back of the house.

When I walked out I saw Tessa leaning against the porch railing. She was staring at something. I walked up next to her and looked out. My jaw almost hit the floor. In the middle of the yard were Edward and Emmett and their brother in law Jasper tossing a football back and forth. It took me less than a second to notice Emmett was shirtless and less time than that to thank God for it.

"Cullen boys they do get the blood pumping don't they?" Tess commented when she noticed me staring.

"Mamaw is looking for you." I said never moving my eyes off Emmett's perfectly sculpted upper body.

"Ok. You coming?" she asked walking away.

"What?" I asked dazed.

"Are you going to come with me?" she asked.

"No. I'm gonna stay here get some fresh air." I lied.

"Fresh air…yeah right." She laughed as she walked away.

They tossed the ball for a few more minutes before calling it a night.

"Hey Cheris, where did Tess run off to?" Edward asked walking up the steps.

"She went in to tell our grandma bye." I said pointing towards the house.

Him and Jasper walked right past me into the house. Emmett walked up the stairs and stood right in front of me so close we were practically touching.

"Enjoy the show?" he asked.

"I wasn't watching you." I said through a shaky voice.

"Never said you were. Guilty conscience?" he played.

"Please I…" my sentence was cut off when his lips landed on mine.

The kiss started off very slow almost waiting for me to push him away. But the longer the kiss got the more confident he became in his movements. My little sisters voice is what finally made me push Emmett away.

"We are leaving. Mom wants to say goodbye." She said with a knowing smile.

"Thanks Brit." I said

She walked away and I looked at Emmett.

"Now where were we?" He asked leaning back in.

"Would you stop." I said pushing him away.

"Why? Would you rather me handcuff you?" he said leaning in again.

"As tempting as that sounds, I need to go tell my mom bye before she comes looking for me." I said before he could re connect our lips.

I walked into the house trying to straighten myself up before I found my mom when I ran into Tessa. She took one look at me and a knowing grin stretched across her face.

"It seems your lipstick has smeared." She said handing me a mirror from her purse.

"I have no idea how that happened." I lied with a smile.

"Well make sure to have it fixed before you see Mamaw and your Mom off." She laughed grabbing her mirror back.

I walked to the front of the house and saw my family talking to Emmett. I walked over and interrupted their conversation.

"Sorry to interrupt I just came to say goodbye." I said sweetly. I knew better than to dismiss my manners in front of my grandma.

"That's okay Cheris, Emmett was just telling us about himself. Seems he is a very determined young man." My grandma said suggestively.

"Thank you Maralene. Well I will leave you all to say goodbye." Emmett said walking away.

"I like him. Much better than the last guy I met." My mother said.

"I'm glad you like him?" I asked confused.

"I thought you two were seeing each other?" She asked.

"No he is Edwards brother and roommate. Honestly Tess knows him better than I do." I explained hugging her.

" Oh well take care of yourself. I will see you next week when I bring Britni out to stay." My mom said as they all walked to the car.

I waved bye then walked back into the house to find Tess. Most guests had filtered out. I looked in every room I passed until I got to the small library the Cullen's had. I peeked in and saw Tessa and Edward dancing. They were all alone and the music was very soft. It was a scene right out of a movie. They were oblivious to everything but each other and the music. I stood there and watched for a few minute before I heard someone behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Emmett.

"They are made for each other aren't they?" he whispered.

"They certainly look like it." I replied.

"I was worried about him for a while. Lord knows we all tried to set him up. I was close to buying him a blow up doll." He laughed

"I know what you mean. If I hadn't found pictures of half naked men on her computer I would have thought she switched teams on me." I replied.

"Do you wanna go out sometime?" he asked bluntly

"I'm free tomorrow night." I suggested.

"See you at eight?" he said

"I'll be there." I said as he walked away.

I watched him walk away as I walked into the library. Edward saw me and smiled.

"I guess it is time I take you two lovely ladies home." He offered.

"Thanks handsome. Would you grab my coat and purse please." Tessa said kissing his cheek.

Edward nodded and walked out of the library. Tessa walked over to me and we chatted about our schedule for tomorrow at the club. By the time Edward came back we had everything sorted and were ready to go home. The drive to our apartment was short and pretty quiet. I walked inside and left the two love birds sometime to say goodbyes. I was happily changing into my pajamas when I finally heard Tessa come in.

"Well tonight was fun." She said with a smile.

"Not a bad night over all." I said brushing out my hair.

"So are you gonna spill about Emmett?" she asked kicking off her shoes.

"Nothing to spill." I lied quickly.

Before she could argue the phone rang. I grabbed it while Tess went to change.

"Hello?" I answered

"Hey its Emmett." Emmett answered

"Oh hey. How can I help you?" I asked

"I was just calling to say goodnight. You left before I could get the chance." He explained

"Oh. Sorry. You could have just texted me." I said

"Well I would have but I don't have your cell number." He laughed

"Oh my bad." I said giving it to him

"Alright. See ya tomorrow." He said hanging up

I hung up the receiver and sat down as my cell went off. I had a text from Emmett.

_It's Emmett. Make sure you have naughty dreams about me tonight. _

I smiled and laughed as Tessa came back in. She asked who was in the phone and I lied and said it was a friend of mine. We talked for a minute before we decided to go to bed. We had a long day tomorrow and I had a feeling I would be having a long night as well.

* * *

><p>Thanks so much for reading this chapter. Feel free to leave a review. Tessa<p> 


End file.
